Maybe Secretary Napolitano meant to say that the system didn’t work before it worked.

Actually, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano who changed the term “terrorism” to “man-caused” disaster shortly after taking office this year said yesterday on CNN that “the system worked”. She added, “there is no suggestion that the suspect was improperly screened”. Apparently aside from the fact that he got on board a plane with powerful explosives on his person. This morning on the Today Show, Napolitano said, “Our system did not work in this instance. No one is happy or satisfied with that.” Which is it?

More from both sides of Secretary Napolitano’s mouth:

Napolitano said her comments to CNN reporter Candy Crowley were taken out of context. Perhaps she should have said that the system didn’t work before it did…or perhaps she felt the system did work before she felt it didn’t. Or maybe, in the interest of the truth, Napolitano should have said “We blew it”, because the Obama Administration has blown it on terrorism since they took office. First and foremost by appointing Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security.

First, there was the change from the Department of Homeland Security, the very people charged with protecting us from terrorism, wherein the term “terrorism” was tossed out. You see it’s just too scary of a term to use. You and I are just too afraid of that scary word. “Man-caused” disaster allows us to all sleep better at night.

Napolitano in an interview with Spiegel International on March 16, 2009 was asked about the change in terminology.

“SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word “terrorism.” Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?

“Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word “terrorism,” I referred to “man-caused” disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.

“SPIEGEL: This sounds quite different from what we heard from the Bush administration. How will the new anti-terror policy differ from the previous one?

“Napolitano: Our policies will be guided by authoritative information. We also have assets at our disposal now that we did not have prior to 9/11. For example, we are much better able to keep track of travelers coming into the US than we were before. The third thing is to work with our international partners and allies to make sure that we are getting information and sharing information in an appropriate and real-time fashion.”

So, according to Napolitano dropping the term “terrorism” and replacing it with “Man-Caused” Disaster, “demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur”.

One would assume “all risks that can occur” might refer to things like properly screening air passengers bound for the U.S., or locating explosives hidden on the body of those passengers, or taking note of deranged U.S. Military personnel who are communicating with Al Qaeda.

In fairness, perhaps I’m taking the Secretary out of context and attributing too much weight to the word “All”. Perhaps, Secretary Napolitano’s words were miscalibrated and by “all risks” she meant “some risks” or “occasional risks” or “no risks”, or “Risks? What risks?”

Do you feel more safe hearing “Man-Caused” Disaster than you did hearing “terrorism”, particularly when you consider that the person using the terminology is the person in charge of protecting you and your family from acts of “terrorism”?

Secretary Napolitano also said, “we are much better able to keep track of travelers coming into the US than we were before.”

Really?

Do you think the Secretary wants to stand by that statement today?

The man who attempted to blow up Flight 253 was on a federal list. Yet, he got on the plane. He not only got on the plane, he got on the plane with explosive materials, and still, initially, Napolitano said, “the system worked.”

Napolitano, in her March 2009 interview with Spiegel refers to changing the term “terrorism” in order to change the “politics of fear” how about less focus on semantics and more focus on assessing terrorism threats adequately and dealing with them in a decisive manner in order to avoid the politics of denial.

This is now twice in just a few weeks that a terrorist attack has occurred on U.S. soil. The first attack being the shootings and murders at Fort Hood in Texas. Another man who was on “a federal list” attacked and murdered his fellow soldiers in the name of Allah.

Fortunately for all of us, and for our safety as citizens of the United States of America, Janet “Man-Caused Disasater” Napolitano was all over that one. Her first response to those attacks is documented below:

From Examiner.com; November 11, 2009

“Following the tragic mass-murder of Americans at the Fort Hood, Texas military installation at the hands of a suspected radical Jihadist, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s first priority was to reassure the world that U.S. authorities were taking measures to quell anti-Islam sentiments after last week’s mass-murder by a Muslim serving as U.S. Army psychiatrist.

“Napolitano said her agency is working with state and local groups to try to deflect any anti-Muslim anger after the Thursday attacks by Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim who reportedly spouted anti-American, pro-terrorist propaganda. Hasan’s murder-spree left 13 people dead and 29 wounded.”

Perhaps instead of continuing the “Obama Apology Tour 2009” and instead of focusing on the potentially bruised feelings of the attacker’s chosen religion, Secretary Napolitano should have looked into that whole being prepared for “all risks” thing.

There is such a thing as a “Man-Caused” Disaster. The man is Barack Obama. The disaster he caused is in appointing Janet Napolitano as the Secretary of Homeland Security.